The first time Rebecca Farwell sees a painting, she’s entranced. Working for town government, she finds mismanaged funds and accounts. She begins using these to her advantage, skimming money and buying art. She becomes immersed in the art world, living a dual life, separate from her small-town world.

The plot is a bit frustrating and repetitive. Unlike other anti-hero or villain protagonist stories, I didn’t feel engaged with the character.

Before this book came out, I heard a lot of really good things about it. All the reviews I was reading about it were really positive, but I did not feel the same way. It might just be that this is not the book for me. I could not relate to the character or what was happening because I know nothing about the world of high stakes art dealership. That being said, the characters were compelling and I couldn't put the book down because I just had to figure out how the book ended.

Two hurricanes slowed my listening of this audiobook, but it was definitely worth finishing. In some ways it felt like watching a horror movie. Every time Becky 'borrowed' from the city coffers, I cringed and thought "Oh, don't do that!" Becky Farwell is a math wiz in high school, so good that she manages to save the family business. Graduation does not mean a college education for Becky who feels that she must stay home to help her father, so instead she is hired as a bookkeeper for the city. Her business smarts earn her accolades and promotions and no one questions anything that she does. What she's doing is becoming an art connoisseur, renowned as Reba Farwell in the international art scene and financing this hobby with money skimmed from the city. Like watching a train wreck, you won't be able to look away!

Greed and obsession are packaged in Becky Farwell, and even though you know she is greedy and out for her own interests, the reader will like her. Even at the end after she has been caught for embezzling city funds from the city for which she worked; you will like her. She may not have gone to college, but she’s got math smarts which keeps moving her up in the financial department of the small city outside of Chicago where she lives. Her problem is that she likes art. By this I mean EXPENSIVE art and as she figures out how to move the money to a city bank account that only she can access the funds her obsession grows and she finds herself moving among the big art aficionados not only of New York City but the world. Her double life works for an astonishing long time, and when it crashes, the FBI has become involved. I enjoyed the audio version of the book. Well read, with wonderful voices for different characters. I only have quibbles with a few minor details. The town of Pierson has a Petunia Festival and she helps plant petunia “bulbs”. Since when do petunias come from bulbs. As her double life becomes stressful, she begins having health problems. One of the issues is skin rashes. She reads an article about a woman who had a terrible rash on her head and during the night, she scratched it so much she ended up scratching brain matter. Where on the head does the skull not protect the brain? I can’t see how this is possible. Although the reader knows Becky is doomed if she doesn’t get her embezzlement under control, and the ending is probably known after the first two chapters, the road she takes in collecting art is interesting.

If you lived with Becky Farwell in the town of Pearson, Illinois, you would think she really loves her community. After all, she is the local girl who stayed after high school and became an indispensable figure in local government. But what they don't know is that in the art world, Reba Farwell has come up through the ranks and is internationally known. What we know is that Becky has been laundering city money, taxes paid by her friends and fellow citizens, to purchase art and resell it. She has become a master at leveraging art and embezzling money. This fascinating tale resonates with small-town dwellers and art lovers alike. It is a story of obsession and deception that I really enjoyed listening to on audio.

Thank you to Harper Audio and NetGalley for an advance audio copy in exchange for an honest review.

I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I'm still processing how I feel about this book. There were parts I really liked: Becky's friendship with Ingrid, her intelligence, her devotion to her father. There were parts I didn't like at all: the in-depth details of the embezzlement, the fact that she went by the name Reba when in the art world, the switching back and forth between her two personas.

Overall, I think I liked it more than I disliked it, but there were some things I would have changed or would have liked to skip over.

This seems to be a case where the story was not well-served by the narrator's performance, at least not for this listener. While I was completely fascinated by the premise, I found the narration uninspiring, which made it hard to stay involved in the story. I also wished the author had used a less linear narrative arc, giving me some taste of the woman Becky would become in the early pages so that her back story would seem more compelling. Ultimately, what I found I wanted after finishing the book was the real story upon which this novel was based. I wanted to ask the author why she chose to novelize what would have likely made for a very compelling nonfiction piece instead.

I listened to this as an advanced listener copy. The narrator did a great job of capturing the feeling of the novel. The novel itself, while good, I think it could have been trimmed a bit. There was a point where all the frantic juggling of skimming, work, and the art scene just became old. And you know early on where this is all headed. Very predictable.

How much does it cost to live the life you fantasize about? For Becky, it takes a lot of money to keep up her Collector lifestyle, which means she must find ways that are not legal to keep her lifestyle. The Talented Miss Farwell illustrates how fine the line there is between being a model citizen and a criminal. It deconstructs what it means to embezzle from a business and give an insight on blue collar criminals minds. Tedrowe makes Becky a some what relatable protagonist but ultimately falls short.. Becky is an insecure and ordinary character that does have growth development throughout the book but not enough to make her interesting to follow. The plot dragged and often left the reader wondering when the excitement of criminal deeds was going to happen. The supporting characters are interchangeable and unmemorable. There was no urgency in the pace nor in wanting Becky to succeed in her double life. Everything feel flat and strained to give life to a lifeless story and character.

Becky Farwell is a very relatable character. Her persona, Reba is a little different. This story kept me captivated. From small down gal to big city art shark, balancing real life with the art world, Emily Gray Tedrowe wove a wonderful adventure.

The Talented Miss Farwell
A Novel
by Emily Gray Tedrowe
Narrated by Allyson Ryan
Harper Audio
You Are Auto-Approved
HarperAudio
General Fiction (Adult) | Literary Fiction
Also available as a digital review copy
Pub Date 29 Sep 2020 | Archive Date 24 Nov 2020

I was not impressed with the narrator. I found it difficult to listen to this one. Thanks to NetGalley and HarperAudio for the digital copy.
3 star

Becky Farwell is a bright, bold girl who dreams of a life bigger than her small farming town can offer her. After graduating high school she gets a job in the town's accounting department. When a reimbursement check comes across her desk, she realizes there is money floating around unclaimed by the town which she could use to fund her new obsession. She quickly develops a double life. During the week, she is meticulous Ms. Farwell, the mayors right hand. But, on weekends she is becoming a noteworthy figure in the art world.
I couldn't stop listening to this story because I had to find out if Becky would be found out. I was also fascinated by the world she is sucked into. I was equally interested in some of the other characters like her best friend and the mayor of her town, which I feel like I didn't get to see develop as much over the years.
The narrator was absolutely perfect for this story.
Overall, I really enjoyed listening to this book, and I will definitely be recommending it to readers who enjoy books like The Talented Mr. Ripley or The Goldfinch.

This book was listed as a mystery, and the only mystery is how Becky thinks she can get away with what she's doing. It's really more of a character study of a criminal.

The book spans around 40 years of Becky's life from high school onward. There aren't events driving the story, but Becky's crimes, covering for her thievery, and her thoughts about art and money. Emily Gray Tedrowe does a great job of examining Becky and her motives and feelings. Unfortunately, that type of book is not my cup of tea. Allyson Ryan is a good narrator, but the story can be harder to follow in audio format because of the lists of transactions that are listed as a part of Becky's activity. These would be great details in print, but in the audiobook they detract from the story.

I want to slap Becky. At first, she refers to her embezzlement as "activity" because she can't even admit to herself what she is doing. Becky steals an incredible amount of money from the town, puts some of it back, and congratulates herself when she pays for things out of her own secret fund. Well, where did the money come from Becky? The town! She resorts to hiring a PI to blackmail a man who finds out what she's up to instead of coming clean. Becky's only redeeming quality is her love for her friend Ingrid and Ingrid's daughter -- she buys them expensive presents like jewelry and a boy band poster signed by the members of the band.

Becky finally gets caught and she can't get out of it (is anyone surprised?) and she explains it away as a one-time occurrence. She starts to deteriorate physically - having hives, panic attacks, and pains in her back and chest. But still, she waits only 3 weeks before stealing money from Pierson again. Her health continues to become worse, and she loses interest in her art dealings, selling and acquiring pieces more slowly than normal. It's almost as if she knows that the end of her embezzlement is near.

Becky's downfall ends up as something simple, as it usually does. She has a procedure and forgets to pick up the work mail from the post office. When a temp opens the mail, the accounting department finds her odd bank statements. Becky goes to work one day to find the FBI waiting for her. The crazy thing is, she spends almost 2 years under house arrest and still doesn't feel any remorse for what she's done. It's not until the trial that she begins to understand how her activity has hurt many people, even though she managed to help a few.

It's irritating that Becky actually ends up enjoying prison after a few hard years. She teaches classes to the prisoners in personal finance and seems to be fulfilled.

Fans of true crime and the art world will enjoy reading this fictional account of a con artist. Readers who enjoy books more about the character than the plot will also enjoy this novel. Those looking for a quick, plot-driven read should look elsewhere.

The audiobook for this novel was great. The narrator was easy to enjoy and kept my attention. I loved the story overall except for characters feeling underdeveloped and the ultimate conclusion felt lackluster.

I found the description of this book enticing and it came across my eyes more than once, so I was happy to be able to listen to an advanced copy of the audio. However, I found the narrator monotonous and unappealing. I'm afraid I did not finish, as I'd prefer to read the printed version instead. Thank you for the opportunity.

Thank you to Netgalley for an Audio ARC of this title.

Becky Farwell is a complex main character. She works for the city of Pierson, IL. She has pulled herself up through the ranks (without a college degree) to become of the most important financial deciders/planners of this small town. But Becky remains unfulfilled. She starts collecting art and very quickly a dual life is formed. She's Becky Farwell in Pierson and the famous Reba of the art world. Greed takes over and Becky gets over her head financially and her ultimate downfall is herself. This book doesn't really fit into any specific genre. But I kinda like that. It's a story about having power, wanting power, and losing power. I do not agree with some reviews that liken this to THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY. It's a great story that stands on its own without any comparison required. The narrator is a perfect choice and the pacing of speech is spot on.

The Talented Miss Farwell by Emily Gray Tedrowe is about a woman whose obsession with art occurs by happenstance when she walks into a building to use the restroom not knowing it was the art building on the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign campus. She wanders around the museum- gallery and is immediately in awe of one of the pieces. The piece which will later be the first in her collection.

Throughout the book, Miss Farwell's character is developed with contradictory traits. She is a thief. She is a philanthropist. She is a buyer of art. She is a collector of art. She is a seller of art. She is caring. She is cold. At times you don't know whether to love her or hate her for what she does to the people in her community who see her as a local hero.

I recommend this title for public libraries.

Have you ever wondered how someone falls into a life of crime? It's a slippery slope. Becky Farwell is really not a bad person, but sometimes temptation is too hard to resist. I enjoyed this story. The narrator did a great job.

"The Talented Miss Farwell" was just a so-so book about the double life of quiet, unassuming small-town Illinois city bookkeeper Becky Farwell and her secret life as brilliant, embezzling New York City art dealer Reba Farwell. I kept waiting for something exciting or even mildly interesting to happen with the plot, but the story was more of a cut-and-dry statement of facts than the "electrifying page-turner" it is being billed as.

The audio narrator was also just so-so. She wasn't terrible, but wasn't terribly interesting, either. Of course, there probably not much a voice actor could do with a plot like this, either.